By Alex Boersma, Literature Columnist, 25/26
As part of the Student theatre spotlights series, I spoke to Tildy and Dulcie of Cherish the Orange to find out what's different about their company, its origins and their productions.
After meeting in first year, Dulcie and Tildy created a successful play for Freshcase, the theatre department's freshers showcase and were encouraged by students in older years to continue writing shows. Thus Cherish the Orange was born. While they both studied Theatre and Film, they note that the wider team and cast study a vast array of subjects but all congregated to the drama society, Dramsoc.
The name of their company has a sweet origin as the girls explain oranges have been a symbol of their friendship since first year. They recall always buying easy peelers when hanging out together and this love of oranges only grew when Wendy Cope's well loved poem 'The Orange' was published, summing up how mundane moments can become wonderful moments of connection, love and joy. They even ended up coincidentally buying each other orange themed Christmas presents one year. The meaning wasn't the only thing that led them to decide on Cherish the Orange as they soon realised how easily brandable oranges are, with their logo and t shirts featuring their beloved orange.
The girls explain their company is different to other student theatre companies because they thrive on working under pressure and doing things last minute. While this may seem counterintuitive, they express this enables them to form more of a collective production with cast members adding their input instead of sticking to a strict script and vision. They prioritise bringing their own lived experience to their plays and cast dynamic groups where the actors inform the roles. I found this striking as they really are going against the normal casting and production process where actors are given roles far different from themselves.
Tildy adds this is particularly helpful for women as she recalls reading about how men find it easier to enter new scripts and roles with their own personalities and influence. Whereas for women this was deemed more difficult because they often 'didn't feel enough' and 'acted really intensely and far away from their personalities'. Thus, the girls focus on adapting roles to the actors for a more authentic and comfortable production.
Their first play, 'Fruitcake', was taken to the Edinburgh Fringe and centered around female friendships as it followed 5 flatmates whose lives are 'put on hold due to the Covid pandemic'. It explored how friendship and the arts, with two of the flatmates making up a poetry slam duo, can help in difficult times and periods of uncertainty.
As well as 'Fruitcake', Cherish wrote and produced 'Foul is Fair' which was performed at Bristol's famous Loco Klub. It followed a group of teenagers the night before their Macbeth English A level exam as they pull an all nighter to revise. However, as I'm sure we all know too well; revision isn't the only thing that happens amongst friends. 'The girls find themselves falling into old arguments that were seemingly healed' until 'one of the girls reveals something to the group, pushing them to have to make a morally charged decision'. Dulcie and Tildy explained they got to be more 'experimental' and 'absurdist' here with lights, dances and sequences taking centre stage.
Kickoff was their most recent show which followed a women's only football team 'explored through a series of conversations' in their university locker room. The show focused on female friendships, nuanced and messy characters and explored the importance of women's football in a world where sports doesn't cater to women.
Their advice for those wanting to start their own theatre company is to 'just do it!', 'launch in at the deep end'. They stress the importance of curating a good team around you and starting off shit but visibly improving as you go on. Their friendship and partnership is clear as Tildy quotes Yoko Ono 'a dream you dream alone is only a dream but a dream you dream together is a reality'.
Anna Dodd
Now that they have graduated, Dulcie is staying in Bristol whereas Tildy is moving to London for a year. However, they are hoping to take a show to the Edinburgh Fringe and continue to write and work together, with a potential short film on the horizon! You can keep up to date with Cherish the Orange by following them on Instagram @cherishtheorange.
Featured Image: Epigram/ Cherish the Orange
Did you see any of Cherish the Orange's plays?
